Objective for this Page: To summarize the prologue,
highlighting the characterization of Antigone in contrast to Ismene.

Summary

Antigone reveals to her sister, Ismene, Creon's decree that Eteocles will
have a state funeral for defending Thebes with his life, but Polynices will
remain unburied because he was a traitor. Creon, Antigone reports to her sister,
has said the punishment for burying Polynices is to be stoned to death within
the walls of Thebes. Antigone tries to recruit her sister's aid in their
familial duty, but her younger sister is afraid of further shame. The consequences of not
obeying laws of the living are more important than not betraying the dead to
Ismene.

Commentary

This scene, which the chorus does not overhear, sets up the whole play.
The audience finds out about the two brothers, sons of Oedipus, who have just fought against each
other over who should rule Thebes. Antigone suggests that Creon's decree
is aimed directly at her (line 38: "yes, me, I tell you"), since it is her duty to bury the dead in her
family. Antigone's act of civil disobedience in burying her brother pits
divine law against Creon's civil decree, but it is also an act of direct
defiance against her uncle who raised her. Ismene demurs to help Antigone
partly because of the life of shame she and her sister have already endured as
the incestuous daughters of Oedipus and Jocasta. Also the Prologue sets up the idea that
Antigone is the stronger of the two sisters and that Antigone could care less what
others want or think is right . Lastly her loyalty is shown to for the dead,
regardless of her brother's attack on Thebes.

Translator Charles Segal notes in his "Introduction"
that "Antigone not only sets out the main issues but also displays all of
the contradictions and dangers that define her character: her intensity of
feeling, the single-mindedness of her devotion to family, her unbending will,
her readiness to defy the entire city in the name of what she believes, her
involvement with the dead, and ther willingness to face death if necessary"
(7).

Study Questions

Why do feel Antigone was so determined to bury her brother, and why was
Ismene not?

Why would Antigone say that even if Ismene changed her mind later that she
would not now let Ismene help her bury their brother?

Do you think that it is important that the two brothers died in "hand to hand" combat? If so how does it fit in with the streak of tragedy
in this family?

(Advanced) If you were playing the role of Creon, you'd have to supply
some "back story" to understand how to portray the new king.

Why would Creon make such a decree: Is he a new ruler making a
regulation to test everyone's loyalty? Is he setting up Antigone
because he fears her power?

Did Creon get the brothers to agree to take turns ruling Thebes
because he planned to remain the power behind the throne and work on
Eteocles during the first year so that he would refuse to yield to
Polynices when the time came?

Does Creon want the throne for himself, even at the cost of civil war
and his nephews' deaths? In the play, Oedipus the King,
when Oedipus accuses Creon (wrongly) of plotting against him, Creon
suggests that he would not want to be king because he has all of the
perks of power without any of the headaches. Has being regent for
about 20 years changed his mind? Or was he lying to Oedipus in the first
place just to turn aside his brother-in-law's suspicions?

Creon has had only King Laius--who tried to run Oedipus down in the
road outside Thebes because he wouldn't yield the right of way--and
Oedipus who came up with several paranoid conspiracy theories when he
was hunting down the murderer of Laius (who turned out to be himself, of
course). If these arrogant and paranoid men are his immediate role
models as kings, what sort of king is Creon likely to be?

Thanks to Joy Myers and Shelley Rowe for contributing to the top half of this page.

Criticism

For analysis of Antigone's opening speech, see your reference librarian about
getting a photocopy of this critical essay from a learned journal--